It’s almost the end of the season for most European soccer clubs, so of course that means it’s time for transfer rumors to start heating up. And this particular piece of gossip promises to be one of the hottest of the silly season:

Manchester City are preparing a bid of £250m to tempt Lionel Messi away from Barcelona.

Yes, you read that correctly. Manchester City are set to spend around $420m for the Argentine, who’s yet to put pen to paper on a contract extension with Barcelona. Should they succeed, the transfer would far outstrip the fee Real Madrid paid for Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale, more than tripling the $132m paid by the Spanish side.

Messi, of course, has been with Barcelona for 14 years, having joined up with La Masia when he was just twelve years old. Often that sort of time with Barcelona keeps the players fiercely loyal. In this case, there’s also the added twist that, to secure his signature, Barcelona agreed to pay Messi’s medical bills, treating his growth hormone deficiency.

So why would he leave?

Well, there’s the money, of course. If Manchester City can really manage to pay such a staggering fee, it’s hard to imagine that Barcelona would be able to turn it down.

Then there’s the side’s performance this season. Knocked out of the Champions League last week. Defeated by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final this week. Seven points back of first place. It looks like there will be no trophy for Barcelona this season.

And part of the reason could very well be down to Messi, who simply doesn’t look the same player he was under Pep Guardiola. Many believe Gerardo Martino doesn’t know the way to get the best out of his star player, which could very well effect whether Messi wants to stay on at the club.

Yet the rumor remains silly. Sure, Messi hasn’t signed an extension as of yet, but players are well known for holding out, particularly when they believe they can squeeze a bit more bonuses out of their club. There’s no sign that the Argentine wants to leave Spain, no hint that he’s truly unsatisfied with Barcelona.

Finally, there’s that teeny tiny added complication that, as of now, Barcelona are still banned from transferring players, thanks to some finagling they did with U-18s coming into the squad. How could the club even think about releasing Messi if they have no option on replacing him?